Thursday, March 13, 2014

To jump the shark: The precise moment when you know a program, band, actor, politician, or other public figure has taken a turn for the worse, gone downhill, become irreversibly bad, is unredeemable, etc.; the moment you realize decay has set in.

In the reporting and investigation of UFO sightings, MUFON strives to use the scientific method....In order to augment scientific research into the study of the UFO phenomenon, MUFON created a Science Review Board (SRB) in 2012. The SRB consists of 8-9 scientists with backgrounds in electrical engineering, physics, chemistry, geology, biology, computer science, and astronomy.

MUFON has just debuted a TV series on the cable channel H2 (History Channel #2, placing it in the august company of shows like Ancient Aliens and The UFO Hunters), and in it the Scientific Method is nowhere to be seen. The series is called Hangar 1 the UFO Files, where "Hangar 1" is supposed to be the place MUFON's supposedly vast collection of UFO data (or UFO stories) is kept. Since MUFON does not exactly own buildings or anything, and its headquarters keep moving as its directors change, some folks are quite skeptical that there even is such a place as "Hangar 1" (think of that huge storage building at the end of Raiders of the Lost Ark.)

Seriously: This is the absolute worst H2 “documentary” I have yet seen. It actually makes America Unearthed look responsible and Ancient Aliens seem accurate. Hangar 1 S01E01 “Presidential Encounters” opens with a note that the “following incidents are taken from real case files.” This reminds me of the opening the Texas Chain Saw Massacre, which claimed to be based on true events; however, I have no doubt that “these are actual UFO investigations” as the next slide informs us. That doesn’t make them true, of course... It seems, too, that this show has its own catchphrase: “MUFON files suggest…” This is almost as good as “ancient astronaut theorists believe…” from Ancient Aliens, but not quite...

The dateline is February 20, 1954: Palm Springs, California. Dwight Eisenhower vacations in Palm Springs “for no reason,” according to MUFON official John Ventre. Apparently MUFON official is this show’s version of “ancient astronaut theorist” on Ancient Aliens. A UFO historian tells us that Eisenhower “disappeared” for twelve hours during which time he allegedly met with aliens at Edwards Air Force Base. Dwight Equitz does not believe the official story, given out the next morning, that the president had emergency dental surgery even though the dentist himself made an appearance. Equitz has a self-satisfied smirk when he reports that the Air Force base was shut down to outsiders during Eisenhower’s trip to Palm Springs. He does not present the obvious: that it was shut down because of the President’s trip, perhaps as a secure retreat zone for the presidential party, or to house the presidential aircraft. Instead, he insinuates that the shutdown was to allow for aliens to land...

Here’s the MAJESTIC-12 language attributed to “Chapter 5: Extraterrestrial Biological Entities” of the Group Special Operations Manual dated April 1954, reformatted on this show to fabricate a “1 March 1954” memo, by computer, in Times New Roman. I quote from Stanton Friedman’s Top Secret/Majic, an unimpeachably pro-UFO source: “Any encounter with entities known to be of extraterrestrial origin is to be considered to be a matter of national security and therefore classified TOP SECRET. Under no circumstances is the general public or public press to learn of the existence of these entities. The official government policy is that such creatures do not exist, and that no agency of the federal government is not engaged in any study of extraterrestrials or their artifacts. Any deviation from this sated policy is absolutely forbidden.” This is the same text Hangar 1 uses, but they excerpt only some sentences from the MJ-12 manual in crafting their own fake memo. The whole thing we see on screen appears to be a complete fabrication from this passage of the fictional MJ-12 documents, and no one on this show acknowledges or addresses the deception involved in creating this fake document as an “illustration.” I’m sure as far as the show is concerned, it’s just another “reconstruction” like reenactments featured during the show, but they present it as though it were true, quote from the fake document as real, and give a fake date not supported by the “actual” files in the MUFON archive.

Read that carefully: MUFON has fabricated documents to look like genuine secret government UFO documents, and presented them in Hangar 1 as if they were authentic, with no explanation or disclaimer. If that isn't downright dishonesty, I don't know what else to call it.

Curt Collins' take on Hangar 1

In a sense this is nothing new. When the notorious Gulf Breeze UFO hoax photos first surfaced in 1987, MUFON's director Walt Andrus embraced them wholeheartedly, resulting in the resignation of some of MUFON's best-known investigators. Andrus was so protective of that hoax that when some of MUFON's most respected investigators checked it out it first-hand and declared it a hoax, Andrus' reaction was to fire the investigators, and keep the hoax (see my book Psychic Vibrations, p. 60, also see "Gulf Breeze" in index). And the reason was obvious: these dramatic but hokey photos were enormously popular with MUFON's subscribers, who wanted to see more "red meat" in UFOlogy. And propelled by the momentum of the Gulf Breeze hoax, MUFON grew significantly.

Unfortunately, given the success of such trashy cable TV shows like Ancient Aliens, Hangar 1 probably will be a commercial success. It gives viewers what they want - exciting stories about alien encounters that sound credible because they are presented in an extremely biased and inaccurate way. And it probably will be successful in bringing new members to MUFON, who will demand more UFOlogical "read meat" lest their attention wander. So look for plenty more such absurdities to follow. Such is the dynamic at work in "Retail UFOlogy": Numerous, uncritical followers gather around a person or organization that gives them the UFOlogical "red meat" that they crave. (See, for example, Steven Greer, or Whitley Strieber.) More cautious organizations, for example, MUFON under James Carrion, do not excite and retain their followers nearly as well, and tend to lose membership. They don't want to hear about caveats and uncertainty. But when the organization follows the spotlight and ignores proper skepticism, it defines itself as fringe, "crackpot" organizations, and is laughed at by anyone who understands science.

What is really interesting is that the people who seem to be the most upset about the absurdities of Hangar 1 are not skeptics, who expect pro-UFO organizations to act irresponsibly, but instead the group I call skeptical believers: those who believe that some UFO incidents might represent genuine mysteries beyond science, but who recognize that the great bulk of UFOlogy consists of error, exaggeration, and humbug. And the "skeptical believer" is just as ready to denounce humbug as is any skeptic. After all, the only way to convince science that the UFO phenomenon is worth studying would be to toss aside all of the accumulated humbug, and accentuate the (hopefully) solid cases. So when MUFON gives itself over to humbug without reservation, it destroys all hope of presenting a convincing pro-UFO case to the skeptical scientific world. So much for the "scientific method!" In a very real sense, the skeptical believers, along with skeptics, are allies who can be characterized as realists - those who care very much what the facts are about UFO cases and try to stick to the facts as best possible - as opposed to unrealists who are ready to embrace any absurd UFO tale if it is exciting, and ignore all facts to the contrary.

There are still some fine investigators in MUFON, who do not make claims beyond what the data will allow, and who are ready to denounce hoaxes and humbug wherever encountered. People like these cannot possibly be happy about MUFON's plunge into tabloid sensationalism, and can scarcely afford to have their names associated with such trash.

56 comments:

The show purports to be about MUFON's case files. So far it is not. In fact, there are very few documented UFO cases discussed in the program. Mostly, it is about alien and UFO campfire stories, material so fantastically flimsy that FATE magazine wouldn't touch it. I've heard the phrase, "tabloid trash." Here, it genuinely fits.

No, MUFON claims these programs are based on files in a real storage area in Cincinnati, Ohio that they call Hanger 1. Everything in the program does indeed have associated files in storage including information on Presidential encounters.

I have never seen so many false claims, hoaxes, wild speculation and plain old kookiness in any UFO program. I used to think UFO Hunters and Ancient Aliens was bad but this one has to be considered the worst UFO Program ever. At least Ancient Aliens and UFO hunters did not claim they are a scientific organization. MUFON states it is performing the "scientific study of UFOs to benefit humanity". What these gentlemen are doing is not "science". BTW, Dwight Equitz is, by profession, an actor. I am not sure what his credentials as a UFO researcher are. Maybe he is the only that could repeat some of this and sound convincing.

As a former State Section Director and Chief Investigator, Today's MUFON is not the MUFON I fell in love with 20 years ago. It is slowly losing it's credibility as "Independent," and seems to be, as most everything else is, run by corporations who have invested in it for benefits that will not benefit mankind, but a few greedy "fat cats" interested in cornering the market on technology acquired as a result of the research and investigations done. My opinion, thank you. We are all entitled to one.

The phrase "Presidential Encounters" implies other presidents besides Eisenhower met ETs. Who were they? Is it just possible that Kennedy's meetings with Marilyn Monroe and other glamorous women were in fact cover stories for his true activities - which were, of course, to meet ETs?

But since we are as close to solving the phenomenon as we were 60 years ago, it seems like MUFON (or at least groups local to me) have turned to abduction stories, telepathic communication with bigfoot and aliens, and the like. I used to wonder if this was an aberration, but after Hanger One has taken on tales of firefights with Aliens, it seems that MUFON has turned from science to entertainment.

After three episodes, I'm very disappointed in this show. Really -- they feature Phil Schneider and Bob Lazar? Two of the shakiest "witnesses" to UFO phenomena. And the constant harping on a government conspiracy. Was hoping this show would actually present the facts of real cases, and perhaps some solid, but largely unknown events, but it doesn't. And it tends to discredit the serious researchers -- and there must be some at MUFON -- who are truly using an unbiased methodology. I'm what someone above called a "skeptical believer." This TV show only makes me more skeptical and less a believer that anyone is doing any credible research.

You mean to say that they decided to resurrect Bob Lazar as a credible witness?!

For a comprehensive look into Area 51 and Lazars claims this site (archived by the Wayback Machine) is the best place to start. The tale of looking for a crashed A-12 (SR-71 predecessor) should be read by anyone looking for a 'UFO crash site'

Graham, you say "the tale of looking for a crashed A-12 (SR-71 predecessor) should be read by anyone looking for a 'UFO crash site'".

So should Curt Peebles' insightful "Stalking the Elusive Crash-Retrieval Aircraft Accident Sites and Their Implications for Roswell"http://n6rpf.net/peebles1.htmlIf nothing else, at least skip to p.5.The short conclusion: you can't hide a real crash site. There's debris everywhere, and a lot of signs of the subsequent clean-up, too.

Which is what the creator of the Blue Fire website found when he went looking for the A-12. After a long search they found firstly the site where the pilot had come down still strapped in his ejection seat with enough evidence lying around to figure out what happened. Ditto when they found the actual crash site there was enough evidence remaining to confirm this.

What always amazes me about UFO crash retrieval tales (& the Cash-Landrum) story is just how many UFO proponants totally ignore the both the logistics involved and the traces that would be left behind.

To Graham.Seriously mate, if black projects want something done, it gets done!What about the logistics of tapping into every single persons phone & computer?(NSA)Retrieving a submarine/aircraft from the bottom of the ocean?In the Cash / Landrum case, repaving a road took a small team one night! How many men & what payload do you think 22 Chinooks could carry?(That is if you are a proponent)I think it was the "Hunters" program, where they scanned the Roswell crash-- they only found a "Button".(US Army)

If a giant mothership(1-3 football fields) came down, certainly.But the few that have crashed/SHOTDOWN are small 20ft dia "Scout ships", equivalent to our reconnaisance planes, & probably have no weapons or "shield/cloaking" systems because of their size.(Bob Lazaar's sports model, Kecksberg acorn,Pennistons triangle in Rendlesham Forest)So size is small, & according to Roswell witnesses,the alloy was virtually indestructable, & spherical shapes are very strong.Aircraft are made of Duralium(Al alloy), fibreglass, & comprised of many components built-up over a framework of many components.

It totally amazes me that on 9/11, where were the remnants of both the Pentagon & paddock planes?, Where was the debris pile of the twin towers> the rubble was at street level.(2 x 100stry skyscrapers)????

To Terry the CensorYes there was piles of twisted girders, & massive clouds of concrete dust, but there was NOT huge piles of concrete rubble.The dust confirms (pyroclastic surge clouds) that the concrete was vapourised by some method.Have another LOOK! The only thing standing is a small section of the steel facade, in a field of steel girders almost at street level.Where are 2 x 100strys of concrete floors & elevator cores/shafts?

Concrete(reinforced) is one of the strongest materials resistant to compression & is why it is used in multi-storey construction.Your'e right, there should have been "huge piles of rubble". But relative to 100strys there was none --it turned to dust.Look at "pancake floors" from earthquakes. Layers of concrete floors stacked on top of each other hence the term pancakes!

Love that picture beside your monika, it reminds me of that bloke in the "Hangover".Wont even talk about the planes, but like in 9/11, the Malay 370 missing flight makes a mysterious U-turn as well.Are we supposed to believe that the latest hi-tech military radar on Diego Garcia Island never watched this plane headed its way?

Regarding the Malaysian Airliner 370, it's interesting to note that there were 4 executives / partners on that plane that had just filed a $ MULTI-BILLION patent for a super-conductor material that they had 'discovered / created', and they partnered up with Bush's company (the same one that partnered with Bin Laden back in the day) to push this new tech onto the market, but with all those execs gone, guess what? The remaining patent now falls completely to the remaining 5th partner, Bush's company, who stands to make out with $Billions because of it.

Also, from someone's iPhone came some meta-data, which includes GPS and all that, which placed them squarely on the Island of Diego Garcia.....

It is well known that the CIA use operatives to get inside groups of particular interest, to keep abreast of activites> Operation Mockingbird> the media.This is well known of Communist, White-power & UFO groups as well.Even Robert agrees that Schuessler did not handle the Cash-Landrum incident as he should have ie the medical records.My point:: MUFON was & can be infiltrated by persons promoting another agenda, misplacing data or ensuring different outcomes/summaries.When we looked at the C/L case, though I am no detective, even I could find in Sarran's notes - "Dr Hamel......trained astronauts..."On more digging I found out that Hamel of the Airforce was in "Special Space Projects" at the time, rose to General, involved in Nukes & Satellites.If this doesnt raise questions about the USAF & NASA involvement then what would?Zoam keeps denouncing the incident because of the " Christian/prophecy" remarks.I am suspect of Sarran, because he states the witnesses were believable, but found no helicopter involvement. "100 helo's for effect"? The senior police officer that saw Chinooks?Couple this with the fact that a US satellite was falling out of orbit at the time,then this version is plausible> Sat retrieval mission. No UFO at all.If it was carrying an RTG Radioactive thermoelectric generator, this WOULD cause a public PANIC & hence the Hush,hush & turn it into a wacky UFO sighting> Schuessler with MUFON to give credibility & hide NASA/USAF.

Micheal Melton, who commented above , confirms all of this.Does everyone know that CHEVRON named an oil-tanker the "Condoleeza Rice", its name changed once Bush administration came to power?An obvious 'conflict of interest' that had to be instigated to not bring up difficult questions, especially with the Invasion of Iraq. Chevron hasnt benefitted?

Calling cda! Have you spent the time to watch "OZ Encounters-UFOs in Australia". This is a good,investigative journalism, documentary with none of the hype & entertainment emphasis of US programs like the trash viewed today such as "Hangar, Hunters etc".No promotion of books, fame, or finance, just everyday Aussies describing what happened to them. They are not actors either, I knew the police sgt & that is Woy Woy police station.(I was a larrikin bad boy in 20s)I have moved to Western Australia chasing work, but before I left I asked my father what his take on UFOs was. He was in the Merchant Marine when young & had witnessed many strange lights at sea. He asked the captain if he put it down in the logbook(craft diving into ocean) & the captain replied:"Dont be ridiculous,if I did that, we would all be sacked for being DRUNK on duty".........Sounds a lot like the pilots CIRVIS reports...........

Precisely correct jozzcooper! This is the perfect example of a company/corporation infiltrating another company(US govt) to push their agenda! BP pushed Blair to get their slice of the cake that was the Romala Oil field in IRAQ as well.How many political contributions were made by Halliburton?The fact that Halliburton & Chevron have both profited from the IRAQ Invasion, which was instigated by LIES of WMDs promoted by politicians aligned with these companies, defies belief!!!I thought you blokes were skeptical?

I distrust the US govt & military/secret services that much I am highly dubious of this missing Malaysian Flght 370.WHY? Operation NORTHWOODS. Joints of Staff have admitted in Sec 8a/b that taking control of a commercial jet is a viable option.The jet was headed for China. What if some people were not meant to return. The latest is once out of Malay radar, transponders were turned off & it reversed course back over the Indian Ocean.Whats there? A US base on Diego Garcia Island.It was only last year that a European jet with the Bolivian President on board was forced to land-- thinking Snowden was on board!!

The planes on 9/11 did exactly the same as well. Fly out of radar cover, turn off the transponders then reverse/change course.

With soldiers being used as guinea pigs in atomic testing, chemicals released on the public. MK Ultra projects, collateral damage,Nayiras incubator babies,WMDs,Syrian Gas attacks etc etc. I am stumped as to why anyone could fully trust what the US govt states as fact? I am very SKEPTICAL!!

UFOlogists only promote for financial gain & noteriety?What about Politicians denying,lying or pushing agendas where the financial gains are astronomical?

Sorry to rant jozzcooper, but how the american public ever voted in Dubya Bush is beyond a joke. The whole lot of them should be tried for crimes against humanity. Last I heard Rice was back on that board of directors......

Here's the thing- the claims above range from dubious to downright wacky. Regardless of the veracity of the statements made, they still don't carry any meaning beyond the subject at hand.

Is there such a thing as a perfectly honest person? If the wife asks if her new jeans make her butt look big, I may prevaricate. Doesn't mean I can't be honest otherwise. Doesn't mean that co-workers lie either. The U.S.G. isn't a person with traits- it's a heck of a lot of people and one doesn't color the rest.

I was agreeing with Micheal A Melton (see above) statement.That MUFON, has & can be infiltrated.Robert's earlier post on Cash/Landrum confirmed this:::> Schuessler from NASA, ran the case. It was his involvement that raised the UFO involvement, when the witnesses all thought it was something to do with the military> the Chinooks.

Have you read OPeration Northwoods Sec 8a/b ? This is documented evidence that plane diversion/hi-jacking is a "viable" option for Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Everything I mentioned is FACT.The MH 370 flight is the only speculation I am raising, but its the complete denial of Diego Garcia radar tracking that has me suspicious. Just like where was NORAD on 9/11?

Thanks for replying jozzcooper,Once people realize how "plausible deniability" fits into "National Security", you then begin to understand the US govt is capable of anything. This isnt white lies about big butts in jeans, this is deaths of 1000's of people, & global conspiracies that need to be hidden at all costs..............UFOs,JFK,9/11,Chemtrails.......

Try to stay focused here mate. You're all over the place and it ends up looking quite random.

A person can lie about one thing and yet be basically honest. The next ten statements can be true. On a larger scale- a government is not a single entity, like a person, it's many. It has many faces, many, many agencies, all with different goals and agendas. What Joe Shmoe in the State Dept. says or does has little bearing on some RADAR operator or some scientist at NASA.This isn't hard. These are all separate people, not some organism that operates like the Borg.

Simply repeating things like 'Chinooks' doesn't lend any credence to the story. If it entertains you, great. More power to you. I'm just pointing out that constantly beating the 9/11/JFK dead horse isn't likely to increase belief in global conspiracies.

The U.S. government is capable of anything eh? This is the same gov. that can't make the health care system work. Do some research into the undocumented citizens quandary it's facing. The list of unresolved issues is fairly extensive. If the gov. really was in contact with aliens, I can't even imagine how big a cluster it would be. I recall when the folks retired, and pretty much every possible system failed in some way or other, from COBRA to SocSec. They had people from one dept. battling people in another to get things done...and we're to believe that not just the U.S Gov., but all the world's governments, are somehow able to align every system on things like aliens. That staggers the imagination. No one can possibly believe that.

Ok, here's the real question:If we're not supposed to believe in what our governments et. al.tell us, why are we to believe their detractors? If someone tells you 'this is what really happened on 9/11', why buy their story? What makes them the honest ones? Maybe the documentary on scoop marks was made by some nefarious agency telling a story they want us to think is the true one.

OK jozzcooper, I know I should be more specific. I should specify the Black OPs, Secret Service, Military influenced side of US govt.The decisions that are made by advisors to the president by the CIA,NSA,NRO ,DARPA, the military industrial complex , The Elites, Council on Foreign Relations, & my favourite--The Bilderberg Group. The secret meetings & decisions that go on behind closed doors.The Bilderberg Group meets annually behind closed doors,with secret service personnel as security & CONSPIRE!!Perhaps I should say the President, but it was all of BUSHs administration that pushed the WMDs--a proven lie.

With any story, I first look at Wikipedia, then Mainstream News,then if there is holes or evidence to suggest otherwise I start digging.You know I am a UFO proponent, but not on the Cash/landrum case because their was questionable military/NASA involvement.My opinion of 9/11 has changed because of the number of Truther films & researched articles. I didnt even know about WTC 7 until I started looking at these. But in the videos you can see explosions before falling floors, 20storeys falling on an angle that just disintergrates mid-air, & molten steel, which should not be caused from kerosene(jet fuel) fire. Its VIDEO evidence!!! & on TV News programs, not fake CGI.CIA propaganda? George Bush Snr (Ex CIA head)?. Remember Nayirah crying about IRAQi soldiers throwing incubator babies on the floor? A proven LIE. She was the daughter of a Saudi Ambassador trained to act by CIA.(original crisis actor)

Without the revelations of Ed Snowden, do you think we would know about how deep the NSA spying goes?This is a perfect example of US,UK, Aus.NZ, & Can secret services(Five eyes) in a clandestine worldwide nefarious spying regime. So yes it is possible, without this whistleblower, we would still be in the dark.With the military owning the majority of aircraft, sats & radars, UFOs & aliens could easily be hidden. Especially when pilots/radar operators are scared to fill out CIRVIS reports of UFO sightings.

The global sightings are coming nearly daily now, so sooner or later, a mass sighting with multiple video captures will happen.Pheonix Lights & Dome of the Rock, Jurusalem arent valid here on this site, but I was amazed at how quick the fake Mississipi video surfaced, & it was the one shown mainly on mainstream news????

Maybe your right about scoopmarks. There is a secret nefarious agency travelling the world, drugging people, implanting UFO memories & taking scoops as DNA proof. The "implant" chips might be triggered at a later date to cause CONspiratardism.MK Ultra by CIA was similar program..........

P.S. Jokes aside. I think I have made my point that (secret)US govt agencies have,can & will LIE to protect secret programs that they think are in our best interests to remain secret under "National Security" via plausible deniability. Let the UFOlogist bashing continue--I'll only bring up a topic if it is relevent to the blog. Thanks jozzcooper & everyone here,especially Robert for letting me rant.....

Deano, your comments make me believe that you have yet to watch this, http://youtu.be/oTZ3XXO7wNAread this, https://tinyurl.com/lsvy5oeand are not familiar with Steven Jones pseudo-scientific paper upon which the entire nanothermite theory is based, http://www.benthamscience.com/open/tocpj/articles/V002/7TOCPJ.htm

Deano,I hope you don;t take it as bashing. That's not intended at all. Feel free to post anything that comes to mind- I mention some of these things to illustrate that it probably sounds better to you than to someone reading it.

As if I hadn't made the case for crude hoax abundantly clear, [Zoam keeps denouncing the incident because of the "Christian/prophecy" remarks.]

Correction, deano: I dismiss their claims because there is ZERO evidence an event even occurred; and because if it had occurred as they claim, all of the tens of thousands of residents of Kingwood and northeastern Houston would have seen it too. An event of the magnitude they describe and in such proximity to Houston would have been LIVE TV news! But it wasn't because it didn't happen.

And then there's no source for the twenty-three Chinooks either; and the very idea, the physical how, of twenty-three helicopters controlling a glowing flaming whatever the size of a water tower simply doesn't make any sense. It's narrative overkill, as if the naive teller of this tall tale thinks a greater number of helicopters makes for a more impressive story, when it's really just another hoax-exposing tell since it's not logical. Twenty-three Chinook helicopters are no more likely to be able to corral and wrangle a glowing, flame-sputtering, radioactive whatever the size of a water tower any more than three, thirteen or forty-three. It's just stupid.

Then they all flew over to Houston Airport, according to the guileless Betty. ... As if that's believable!

And then given that their injuries were superficial and simply did not require any cause more extraordinary than a heat-lamp or household chemicals, I don't think my hammering on these very obvious problems is overstating the case for hoax.

Now, the fact that Betty--as if according to a script--repeatedly included in her interviews the sentence: "We thought it was the end of time," and Vickie would include her attempt to calm Colby by telling him that he would see "Jesus" and that "he was gonna take us to a better place," when such apocalyptic/theophanic tropes are hackneyed devices of science-fiction and 1950s Contactee flying-saucer fairy tales, is only deliciously hilarious icing on this half-baked and fallen fruitcake of a "UFO" story as concocted by two simple-minded fifty-something East-Texas women. Such unnecessary inclusions when we know their source material--their "UFO" script, just as millions of others do--only further exposes their crude hoax.

"We Thought It Was The End of Time!"--National Enquirer headline for this story!

deano; C-L was tabloid trash in 1981. Even then it was a retro sort of "UFO" story: Maury Island 1947; Hills 1961; Falcon Lake 1967. Betty and Vickie were in their fifties in 1981, they had been exposed to the "UFO" myth and delusion since 1947. And it's just the kind of story one might expect them to unwittingly express: blatantly derivative, sketchy, incomplete, impossible and utterly phony from start to finish; all of which explain why this fairy tale puzzled some rational investigators. C-L, as phony as their self-inflicted injuries on which it rests, is an imitation "UFO" story.

The TV show is somewhat lame, unscientific and blatantly bias. Sure, it's a television show, not a research project.

Oh, ok I get it now - because the TV series is lax on hard science and high in sensationalism (as one could expect any TV show to be). We can therefore conclude that MUFON are completely discredited, all of their previous work can be discounted and we can finally say for sure that the ET hypothesis is false. That approach makes sense. If we can find reason to criticize one aspect of a group, then obviously the entire group and all its previous efforts should immediately be considered redundant.

Sweet, now I understand the purpose of this thread. I can be forgiven for originally thinking that the thread was simply a remix of the same prejudicial and heavily slanted criticisms, from the same close minded zealots.

Wow -- you guys always jump to the extremes, don't you? Do you not understand the issues? MUFON has discredited themselves for a piece of the almighty dollar. Their single most publically accessible PR effort to date is a collection of lies, embellishments, and irresponsible conclusions that are easily shown to be withoout any factual basis or concern. The only relation this has to "all of their previous work" is the fact that they are consciously redefining "all of their previous work" by their presentation of this new drivel. This is something with MUFON's name on it that MUFON has very purposely introduced to a public that remains otherwise unconvinced by "all of their previous work". And so now they're rehashing "all of their previous work" in order to make it more believable to an audience that hasn't already chucked it completely as more idiocy from the fringe. And your response is to insist that none of this gives us reason to "conclude that MUFON are completely discredited, all of their previous work can be discounted"?

Nobody redefined the facts inherent to these cases for them -- they did it for themselves, so don't try to imply that the conclusions sane America reaches on the basis of that redefinition is somehow unjustifiable. This is a conscious manipulation of fact undertaken to gather support for theories and ideas like the ET hypothesis that have been universally rejected by the more reasonable and intelligent half of the country. As for this thread being "a remix of the same prejudicial and heavily slanted criticisms, from the same close minded zealots", you have yet to establish that the criticisms are "heavily slanted" without good reason, or that "close minded zealots" is a fitting description of those people who insist that conclusions be reached on the basis of fact and accurate testimony. A "zealot" is primarily a "fanatic" who is attempting to persuade others to adopt his own opinion, and to date the majority of fanatics this issue has provoked are those attempting to convince the world in the veracity of UFOs and the ET hypothesis -- and failing to do so (i.e., see deano above). If they were not failing to convince the world on the basis of known facts, MUFON would have had no cause to sell out their past, their present, and their foreseeable future to produce this pathetic and irresponsble pile of televised crap.

Perhaps if MUFON actually conducted a "research project" that wasn't more than simply accepting as gospel truth the claims of alleged witnesses who could very well be a bunch of frauds and mental defects, skeptics wouldn't reach the inescapable conclusion that converts are more important to MUFON than facts.

I agree with you on this Mark, also "James Carlson" would you mind proving to me that there is no such thing as UFO's before saying that everything they conclude and every theory they come up with is a lie. I mean you have no proof yourself about what you are saying, it is easy to jump the skeptic-bandwagon and just completely deny everything due to lack of proof.

Also the "intelligent part" of America agree'd that there is no such thing as UFO's? When did that happen? Even Stephen Hawking agree'd that the UFO's were much more likely to exist rather than not exist at all...

Of course everyone is entitled to your opinion, but I just think that it is easy to be a skeptic in this case, when we all know we will die never knowing what is going on. So I guess if you're a skeptic you could say you automatically "win" by default..

Gday James, the novelist returns! Sold many books lately?If you read my above statements you would understand that I am in total agree with the fact that MUFON cant be trusted. It has been infiltrated from day one!

It could be argued that you are a "fanatic" when it comes to defense of your father. And if you read above, my father, who has traversed the globe 3 times at sea,has seen many strange anomalies.Should I disregard his stories as the rantings of a delusional sailor?Apparently I am a "zealot"? I know I cant change closed minds about UFOs,but I can bring attention to the FACT that the US govt & military are not entirely truthful with regards to events that are in the interest of "National Security".Can you honestly swear that your father has not had to take an oath of secrecy,with ramifications if he reveals such secret information?

A person as yourself that cant even control his comments on an adult based blog such as this & Robert has to delete?Are you even aware that 2/3rds of Americans doubt the official 9/11 story?

It is not my fault that most posters here do not even look at the "latest UFO sightings" which occur daily on a global basis.Most Americans would not even know where Sevastapol is, & that its Russia's Naval base to the Black Sea, & hence its importance to the current "Bad Communists WWIII" scenario being told by FOX or CNN.How many Americans would even know of Diego Garcia Island in the Indian Ocean,that its a Black Ops Base with prison facilities, a staging point for Iraq & Afghan airforce flights, & probably where "Malaysian Flght 370" has mysteriously dissappeared. NO, a UFO has not captured it in a tractor beam!

I am glad to know I am a fraud & a mental defect, but this knowledge cant remove my Scoop Mark,memories,nor the fact that a documentary which I watched 16yrs after it was made,verified that dozens of other "sane" people witnessed the same UFO event.I wonder if my father was in the NAVY instead of Merchant Marine,the events he witnessed, might take me down the "heavily slanted" road that you have taken.......(no offence to your father).....

I've been reading and rereading some of Jason Colavito's earlier blog posts. He is truly an excellent blogger. Here is a link to his roundup for 2013: http://www.jasoncolavito.com/1/post/2014/01/fringe-history-in-2013-the-year-in-review.html

Mufon serves its purpose and that purpose is to be the largest collection of reported sightings. From there, those sightings that have any merit, maybe those observed by pilots and military, are systematically removed. I have monitored the site for years. Those that are lights at a distance observed by one or two people remain in the system. Mufon intentionally uses material that is clearly false just so their reputation stays mediocre. People trust it enough to make their reports (they shouldn't). And where else can the government, the aliens, the whoever you might concern yourself with, where else are they going to find your report? The sheeple, so ignorant, like lambs to the slaughter. If you saw something real and can prove it, don't go to mufon with it, you would be squashed very quickly - that is their role, not to serve the people.

The problem I have with this program beside the fact I don't believe they have 70,000 records, is the wild speculations and conclusions they jump too. They use so much CGI graphics it's hard to tell whats actual video and whats made up. They have "experts" explain things that have nothing to do with their subject making it sound like they the Expert is agreeing with their conclusions. I'm getting so sick of watching idiots chasing around the country talking to people (although well meaning) with no proof of what they saw, is sad at best. If I thought for a second the the U.S. government had access to a power source that made flying saucers possible, and we as citizens don't have clean cheap power, would upset me to say the least. The program doesn't prove any thing, just wild speculations. Everyone love's a conspiracy!

Wait hold on a second, so you tell me, that you, and everyone else commenting negatively here, sat down to watch a show about "UFO's" and is infuriated afterwards about the "wild theories" I mean what the hell did you expect? If you say you want a show with completely indisputable proof of UFO's then you are pretty ignorant, obviously there will never be "indiosputable proof", unless the government first admits to being aware of UFO's (which they haven't) so until then, everything we will ever see or hear about UFO's will be regarded as theories only.

So what we can conclude from this is, we will never have undisputable proof of UFO's (of alien origin) because no matter what kind of proof you come up with, even it would be enough for a conviction in court, it would not be regarded as suficient enough purely because of the whole "alien" subject.

Just to make sure the following doesn't happen like it did on another site, let me tell you: It has been proven that governments do not tell it's people everything, it is a FACT that people are being kept in the dark about certain things. So do not tell me the opposite is true.

Also if they were to fly a UFO and land it in the middle of New York City, i would doubt people would still be convinced of UFO's being real, instead they would call it "testing of secret government craft", because people are ignorant that way, they are afraid to believe there is something out there that they have never heard of or seen before, because that would shatter their reality they've grown so fond of, their little inner bubble would burst.

And also guys, you do not get to criticize Mufon for trying to investigate UFO's unless you, personally, have put in a better effort than they have, and know exactly what to do and how.

nicolaj990 (April 28, 2014 at 6:59 AM):If you say you want a show with completely indisputable proof of UFO's then you are pretty ignorant, obviously there will never be "indisputable proof", unless the government first admits to being aware of UFO's (which they haven't) so until then, everything we will ever see or hear about UFO's will be regarded as theories only.

Why do you need the US government to be involved in a scientific discovery?

nicolaj990 (April 28, 2014 at 6:59 AM):Just to make sure the following doesn't happen like it did on another site, let me tell you: It has been proven that governments do not tell it's people everything, it is a FACT that people are being kept in the dark about certain things. So do not tell me the opposite is true.

Irrelevant. This is just an excuse and a distraction from the fact that UFOlogists have failed for decades to provide any evidence in support of their pet claims.

nicolaj990 (April 28, 2014 at 6:59 AM):Also if they were to fly a UFO and land it in the middle of New York City, i would doubt people would still be convinced of UFO's being real, instead they would call it "testing of secret government craft", because people are ignorant that way, they are afraid to believe there is something out there that they have never heard of or seen before, because that would shatter their reality they've grown so fond of, their little inner bubble would burst.

15 out of the top 100 films feature extraterrestrials, six of which are in the top twenty.

It looks like people are not afraid enough.

nicolaj990 (April 28, 2014 at 6:59 AM):And also guys, you do not get to criticize Mufon for trying to investigate UFO's unless you, personally, have put in a better effort than they have, and know exactly what to do and how.

For starters, what not to do it taking witness statements at face value and ignoring inconvenient information.

- I need the US Government to be involved because every scientific discovery made, atleast in the US, goes through the government first, recently we were made aware of this when Congress deemed a scientific study on climate change to be "unscientific". It should go without saying though, that i am not preaching gloom and doom here.

- The argument is most certainly not relevant, loads of evidence has been captured on video, pictures and recorded eye-witness testemony, usually in court thats all it takes, but when it comes to UFO's it is that much harder to prove because we also don't fully understand what they are at all. Saying it is irrelevant is an excuse in itself that debunkers have used to discredit, otherwise credible testemony.

- http://www.filmsite.org/boxoffice.html > Yes wow 15 feature extraterrestrials, and the same amount of films feature fantasy such as lord of the rings, and others feature drama's and romantic movies such as Titanic. The entertainment people enjoy has nothing to do with it.

- What not to do is taking witness statements at face value is a given. However when the statements are the same from all people speaking out in the same area, then there is cause to believe that it happened like that. One person saying "i saw a ufo" is not enough i agree, but usually there are groups of people who just happen to live in the same county that report the same thing.

Ignoring inconvenient information is stupid yeah, but i did not see any examples of that at all? Ofcourse if you mean stuff like "But the official statement is ---" then i wouldn't call that information at all.

nicolaj990 (June 4, 2014 at 10:13 AM):"- I need the US Government to be involved because every scientific discovery made, atleast in the US, goes through the government first,..."

Please provide evidence that every scientific discovery in the US "goes through the government".Please explain exactly what you mean with "going through the government."

"recently we were made aware of this when Congress deemed a scientific study on climate change to be "unscientific". It should go without saying though, that i am not preaching gloom and doom here."

The US Congress can deem that apples fall upwards and that pi equals 3, but it won't make it so.And it doesn't change the fact that scientific discoveries don't need the US government to be directly involved, especially because there are other countries in the world.

nicolaj990 (June 4, 2014 at 10:13 AM):"- The argument is most certainly not relevant, loads of evidence has been captured on video, pictures and recorded eye-witness testemony, usually in court thats all it takes,..."

You are missing my point completely.

You said that "It has been proven that governments do not tell it's people everything, it is a FACT that people are being kept in the dark about certain things."This is utterly irrelevant, unless you can prove that the US government is lying specifically about UFOs and not generally about "certain things".

So, what is your evidence that the US government is lying about UFOs? And how does that affect the rest of the world?

"but when it comes to UFO's it is that much harder to prove because we also don't fully understand what they are at all. Saying it is irrelevant is an excuse in itself that debunkers have used to discredit, otherwise credible testemony."

What is hard to prove about UFOs?It is not hard to prove that people make genuine mistakes in good faith. It is also not hard to prove that mundane phenomena can generate UFO reports. It is not hard to prove that some UFO reports cannot be conclusively explained, because there is not enough information.

What do you think has to be proved about UFOs? That they are extraterrestrial crafts? Please tell us clearly what you mean when you say "UFO".

nicolaj990 (June 4, 2014 at 10:13 AM):"- http://www.filmsite.org/boxoffice.html > Yes wow 15 feature extraterrestrials, and the same amount of films feature fantasy such as lord of the rings, and others feature drama's and romantic movies such as Titanic. The entertainment people enjoy has nothing to do with it."

So, people are not that afraid of aliens, despite what you claimed.

nicolaj990 (June 4, 2014 at 10:13 AM):"- What not to do is taking witness statements at face value is a given. However when the statements are the same from all people speaking out in the same area, then there is cause to believe that it happened like that."

You mean, like in Yukon in 1996?See: http://badufos.blogspot.de/2012/04/top-ten-ufo-case-yukon-canada-1996.htmland : http://badufos.blogspot.com/2014/01/discovery-canadas-close-encounters.html

What makes you think that witness accounts are reliable when they face something unfamiliar and unidentified?

"One person saying "i saw a ufo" is not enough i agree, but usually there are groups of people who just happen to live in the same county that report the same thing."

And based on our experience with UFO reports, it can happen that they make similar mistakes.

nicolaj990 (June 4, 2014 at 10:13 AM):"Ignoring inconvenient information is stupid yeah, but i did not see any examples of that at all? Of course if you mean stuff like "But the official statement is ---" then i wouldn't call that information at all. "

Inconvenient information like accounts of witnesses that did identify a UFO as something mundane.

Thing is, with all this stuff, is they're trying to 'cut to the chase', without wasting everybody's time getting there. Problem is, without showing us how they arrive at their conclusions, it's all a little hard to take at face value.

But I was researching and researching and researching all this ufo crap for quite a while, trying to 'separate the wheat from the chaff', as 95% of stuff is garbage or nonsense or unsubstantiated.

But slowly over time, what I found was, that this little tidbit here, tied in with that little tidbit there, which connected to this detail here, etc; and most often from separate sources that weren't even aware of each other, or trying to make a connection to anything else. From different sources bits and pieces of the more reliable stuff began to paint a certain picture or point in a certain direction.

But it would take hours footage and stories and backstories and follow-up validations of stories or anecdotal evidence or whatever to lead people by the nose to the final result, so instead Presto ! - Hanger One just cuts to the chase and throws their end conclusion at you, which makes them look hugely unscientific. Shame on them for that.

I'm a little perplexed by all the 'sensationalism' in the show, and I think it really discredits the series. But know that for some of their outrageous claims, there actually is some evidence and a bevy of witnesses that could corroborate their conclusions; they're only choosing not to spent the hours detailing all of that, boring and losing people along the way, and prefer to jump instead to the more sensational 'results' they've gathered in their 'Hanger One' files.

But I think people would really actually prefer to see the proof, follow along and all that. I mean, people will wade through the mundane of reality crime series, so why not the forensics of ufo investigation?

I agree with some of your conclusions, but not that Hangar 1 is just skipping showing their math and jumping to the result. Instead, most of what they've shown so far is just what you said: "95% of stuff is garbage or nonsense or unsubstantiated." There are real case files worthy of discussion, even on TV, but shame on MUFON for taking part in this.

For the most part, I agree with your talking points. I didn't leave MUFON as a field investigator because I am a skeptical believer, but rather because the metrics by which MUFON measures its own success is skewed.

MUFON plays a game of competition between state chapters to close more cases than the other. I don't think anyone knows what the prize is, but vetted and triaged information is not high on the priority list of MUFON SOP.

MUFON appears so not confident in it's own ability, no where on a field investigator's report is there a block or space to enter a confirmed extraterrestrial craft. MUFON's being appears to be based on perpetuated myth. In the months just prior to my leaving MUFON, the organization was engaged in many diverse pursuits including cryptozoology. This may be fine for some, but to me, it was a waste of time as a resource.

There are many good and dedicated people in MUFON, including leadership, but MUFON needs to redefine it's mission statement or go by the way of other failed UFO enthusiast organizations.

Keep your comments relevant, and keep them civil! That means no personal attacks will be allowed, by anyone, on anyone. Commenters are welcome to disagree with me, or with other comments, but state your arguments using logic, and with a civil tone. Comments in violation of these rules will be deleted, and offenders banned.

Comments should be in English, although quotes from foreign-language sources are fine as long as they're relevant, and you explain them. Anonymous postings are not permitted. If you don't want to use your real name, then make up a name for yourself, and use it consistently.

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About Me

Robert Sheaffer is a writer with a lifelong interest in astronomy and the question of life on other worlds. He is one of the leading skeptical investigators of UFOs, a founding member of the UFO Subcommittee of the well-known Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (CSI, formerly CSICOP). He is also a founding director and past Chairman of the Bay Area Skeptics, a local skeptics' group in the San Francisco Bay area .
Mr. Sheaffer has written the "Psychic Vibrations" column in The Skeptical Inquirer for over 30 years, and his book "Psychic Vibrations" reprints some of those columns. He is also the author of "UFO Sightings" (Prometheus Books, 1998), and has appeared on many radio and TV programs. His writings and reviews have appeared in such diverse publications as OMNI, Scientific American, Spaceflight, Astronomy, The Humanist, Free Inquiry, Reason, and others.
Mr. Sheaffer lives near San Diego, California. He has worked as a data communications engineer in the Silicon Valley, and sings in professional opera productions.